


A Glader Christmas

by rememberednoah



Category: The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Adorable, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Christmas Tree, Cookies, Dogs, Fluff, Ice Skating, M/M, Mistletoe, Snowball Fight, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-07
Updated: 2014-10-07
Packaged: 2018-02-20 06:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2418650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rememberednoah/pseuds/rememberednoah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Notes: Inspired by my friend, <a href="http://vivianackles.tumblr.com/"> Vivian</a>, who pretty much gave me a simplified version of the plot. Also inspired by the ship name. I mean, come on, Newtmas? How could I resist?</p>
    </blockquote>





	A Glader Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: Inspired by my friend, [ Vivian](http://vivianackles.tumblr.com/), who pretty much gave me a simplified version of the plot. Also inspired by the ship name. I mean, come on, Newtmas? How could I resist?

-In which Thomas and Newt are around the age of 20-23 but I can't seem to choose a specific age.-

Newt sat on the front porch of the brightly illuminated house. He could hear behind him the loud roar of the guys talking. He tried not to smile as he wondered what they were saying. They had never quite learned to keep their voices down but whatever words they were sharing were still not shouted loud enough for him to make out.  
  
He blocked out the sound of their voices and stared at his gloveless hands. He held a steaming mug of just made tea. Thomas had constantly tried to convince him to like hot chocolate but he simply could not make himself. _There was nothing like a good hot tea_ , he thought. Nothing tasted quite like tea did and hot chocolate could simply not compare, regardless of what Thomas said.  
  
Silently, he took a sip from the mug and watched the boys. The youngest ones were outside having a snowball fight. Some of the older boys were playing with them, like Jeff and Frypan (they could never quite remember how it came about that they called him that. . .it just sort of happened). He could hear their laughter and couldn't help the smile that took shape on his lips. He loved watching the boys play and get along. Even though all the boys loved each other, this only meant the bickering and ridiculous arguments were more frequent. This peaceful moment of them enjoying themselves was more than enough to make Newt happy.  
  
All of a sudden, a hand ruffled up his hair and he didn't even have to look up to know it was Thomas. The dark-haired boy had gotten into the habit of messing Newt's hair ever since he got a haircut the previous week. Newt had tried all week to get the other boy to stop but he secretly didn't want him to stop.  
  
Thomas sat beside him and beamed him a grin. He held out a mug and made a scene of shoving it in front of his face like some sort of desirable object. It was full of hot chocolate. Newt smirked instantly and pushed the mug aside.  
  
"There's no bloody way I'm drinkin' that. You can't make me."  
  
Thomas' smile turned into a smirk and he said "Oh, I'm sure I can find a way to make you."  
  
Newt rolled his eyes dramatically but a smile was tugging at the corner of his lips. He knew the other boy was right. He knew all too well.  
  
Thomas went back to a grin, knowing he was in the right, and turned to look at the boys. Unconsciously, Newt moved closer to Thomas until their shoulders, arms and knees were touching. Without hesitation, Thomas put an arm around Newt's waist and the blonde settled in closer. He was actually freezing and Thomas' warmth was comforting in more ways than one.  
  
A ball of white was suddenly thrown in their direction and they both instinctively moved from its reach. The culprit guilty of throwing the ball revealed himself by shouting "You guys are gross!"  
  
It had been Chuck. . .which was only more proof that the words were a lie. The kid was pretty much the most comfortable with the relationship between Thomas and Newt. He just liked pretending like he thought they were disgusting because he didn't want them to get too comfortable.  
  
"Shut it, shuck face!" Thomas hollered with a laugh. He ran a hand through his hair and chunks of snow promptly fell off. He then graciously slid his arm around Newt once more. Newt was more than happy with this and took another sip of his tea.  
  
"Are you two gonna spend the rest of the night out here freezing your butts off or are you gonna come inside and eat _warm_ food in a _warm_ house?" Minho asked, leaning against the door frame of the now open door of the house.  
  
"Food sounds _really_ good," Newt said and got to his feet in a flash. What he really wanted was the warmth inside of the house once more. He was pretty sure his ears were bright red from the cold and his nose was probably headed that way also.  
  
Newt pulled down the sleeves of his baby blue sweater so that it covered his chilly fingers and stepped into the house. He made his way without haste to the dining room where he found most of the older boys. Alby was busy telling some elaborate story about something that happened at work and only half of the guys were paying attention while the others were busy shoving food down their throats. They always told themselves they would eat together, at the same time, but always ended up eating whenever.  
  
Thomas was the first to sit down and Newt took the spot beside him. The guys only got even louder when they joined them and about a million different conversations erupted across the table. Newt tried to keep up with some of them but it was nearly impossible. He resorted to just eating, smiling occasionally and laughing whenever he actually heard something funny.  
  
He could feel Thomas beside him constantly looking at him and tried not to blush. It always made him nervous to have his boyfriend stare at him. His gaze always brought thoughts of kissing and touching and just. . . Things he should not be thinking about while he was having dinner with his friends.  
  
Newt cleared his throat nervously and scratched the back of his head. Thomas choked on a laugh like he knew exactly what the blonde was thinking about. This only made Newt's urge to blush even more intense and he was attempting with all his might to focus _just_ on his food. Maybe if he focused just on his food, thoughts of Thomas' hands on him would disappear.  
  
"You okay there, Newt?" Alby asked suspiciously, his eyes intent on him.  
  
Newt coughed and nodded way too quickly. "Yup, totally fine. Fine. Yeah."  
  
All the boys burst out laughing and Newt just wanted to hide and pretend this wasn't happening. Of course he didn't do this and he simply went back to eating like he had not just made a fool of himself. For a second his eyes flickered towards Thomas and he saw something mischievous in them.  
  
"Try something and I'll kill you," he hissed under his breath.  
  
The other boy laughed and held his hands up in surrender. "I haven't done a single thing. To make you feel better I won't even look at you."  
  
He even went as far as to make a point of turning most of his body towards the left, in the direction Alby was sitting. Instantly this made Newt want to smack him over the side of the head but he didn't. He simply shook his head and finished his meal.  
  
When the others were too distracted to pay attention to him, Newt got up from the table and made his way to his room on the second floor. Before he opened the door, he heard the familiar scratch of nails against wood. He chuckled and opened the door to be bombarded by his golden retriever. The dog, Cheerio, happily put his two front paws on his chest and started licking away at his neck and cheeks.  
  
"Cheerio, stop. I'm not here to save you. At least not yet," Newt said with barely contained laughter to the dog.  
  
Cheerio, seeming to understand what Newt said, whimpered and settled back on its four paws. The dog made an obvious gesture of rubbing against Newt's legs, like a cat would, before sitting down.  
  
Newt gave Cheerio a pat on the head and began his search. He scavenged around his room for some gloves and a scarf and wrapped the latter snuggly around his neck. He then looked for the box where he had stashed what was needed to make a snowman.

  


\- - -

  


The tradition had begun three years ago. Newt had been standing in the backyard and had absently made a large ball of snow. He had been thinking of everything and nothing and somehow that had lead him to making the ball. When Thomas had found him doing this, he beamed with happiness.  
  
"I want to help!" he had said excitedly and proceeded to make a smaller ball of snow and had placed it on top of the larger one.  
  
"What are you doing?" Newt had asked, perplexed and utterly confused.  
  
"Helping you make a snowman, duh? Although. . . Where the hell is all the stuff? The buttons? The scarf? The hat? The carrot nose? You're pretty much failing right now at making a successful snowman."  
  
When Thomas finally noticed that Newt was still looking at him as if he had just grown a second head, he understood that the blonde had not been doing that at all.  
  
"Newt, why would you make a huge ball of snow if you're _not_ going to make a snowman?" Thomas had crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at the other with a challenging gaze.  
  
"Uh, I wasn't really thinking? I mean. . . We could totally make one if you would like to," Newt had stammered out.  
  
"Yeah, I would like that," Thomas had said and disappeared to look for the necessary materials to finish off the half made snowman.

  


\- - -

  


It was now Newt who was in charge of picking out what the snowman would wear. Each year they had used different buttons and scarfs and hats and this year would be no different. With the box in a hand, he called out to Cheerio "I'll take you out soon. Tommy and I will take you for a walk. Promise."  
  
Cheerio barked as if saying "you better". Newt shook his head and left the room before he could think more of just how much his dog understood of what he said.  
  
Before looking for Thomas, Newt made a quick dash to the kitchen and grabbed a carrot from the fridge. He placed it into the box with the other things and then looked for Thomas.  
  
He found the dark-haired boy in the living room and grabbed him by the back of his gray sweater. A warm smile formed on Thomas' lips and he left without telling the others where he was going or what he was going to do. The other boys stared after them and shook their heads like they thought something 100% dirtier was going to happen than the actual reality.  
  
"You were just _dying_ to snatch me away so we could be alone," Thomas said cheekily and Newt shoved him aside with a glare that was halfhearted. Thomas barked out a laugh and reached out for the blonde.  
  
"Wha-" Newt began to say before Thomas pressed a quick peck on his lips. The blonde growled in frustration and shoved the other boy once again. Thomas threw his head back with laughter and Newt really wished he wasn't thinking about how incredible he looked that way; so utterly and totally kissable.  
  
"I will not be weak," Newt muttered to himself.  
  
Thomas, not missing a beat, asked "What was that?"  
  
"Nothing, shank," Newt said loudly and stopped walking once they clearly stood on the backyard.  
  
Thomas didn't say anything back and held back his urge to smirk. He decided to cut his boyfriend some slack and began to work silently. The two boys worked with little to no communication between the two except the occasional snowball intended to make the other laugh.  
  
When the three balls that would make the body of the snowman were stacked one on top of the other, the two boys fought for who would put on what on the snowman. It went a little like this:  
  
"You put the nose on last year!"  
  
"I don't care! I like putting on the nose."  
  
"Whatever. I'll put on the buttons. . . Newt what is this klunk? These buttons are horrible."  
  
"Shut up, _you_ chose them."  
  
"How could I have possibly chosen them when it was _your_ turn to choose what the snowman wore?"  
  
The discussion ended with the two of them wrestling on the snow covered grass, snow now coating all their clothing. Newt was laughing and Thomas was laughing but neither of them was actually backing down from the small wrestling match. It was all limbs and scarfs and chilly snow.  
  
It took about ten minutes but eventually Thomas had Newt pinned down on the grass and was giving him his best victory grin.  
  
"I hate you," Newt said clearly, his voice crisp in the air around them.  
  
"Yeah, me too," Thomas said back and kissed Newt without warning. The blonde shivered involuntarily and buried his fingers in Thomas' dark hair.  
  
Before Newt could even get too into it, Thomas pulled away and jumped to his feet. He grinned and picked up the scattered buttons that belonged to the still unfinished snowman.  
  
"You're such a bloody tease, Thomas," Newt said but there was no venom in his words.  
  
Thomas held back a laugh and said with a tone bordering on laughter "Think about the children, Newt. Can't have them walking in on us doing something dirty, can we?"  
  
Newt suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and pursed his lips. "Let's just finish the snowman, okay? I'm not done until he's done."  
  
"Whatever you say, boyfriend," Thomas said and handed the scarf that belonged to the snowman like some sort of peace offering.  
  
Newt snatched it away with pretend forcefulness and put it around the snowman delicately.  
  
Five minutes later, the snowman was done and Thomas and Newt stood proudly looking at it. Newt put an arm around Thomas' shoulders and smiled shyly.  
  
"Picture time!" Thomas shouted before dragging Newt in front of the snowman so they could take a selfie with it.  
  
Newt sometimes wondered how he put up with him. Then he remembered.  
  
"You're lucky I like fucking you," Newt said with a slight shake of the head.  
  
Thomas laughed once more (he just couldn't help himself, his boyfriend was adorable). "You and I both know that's not the only reason why you stick around."  
  
"Right! That and the brownies. How could I forget the brownies?" Newt said with an over dramatized tone.  
  
"You're such a shank," Thomas said and cupped Newt's face in his hands. Originally he had planned just to peck the lips of the blonde but he just couldn't stop there when the blonde settled closer like he was some vital life force and when his lips were so chilly and hungry for him.  
  
Newt tried not to smile as he kissed Thomas back and shoved his now gloveless hands into the back pockets of Thomas' jeans. The dark-haired boy jumped like he had been stung and Newt just laughed as he haphazardly kissed the lips of the other boy.  
  
"We should stop," Thomas whispered breathlessly in between kisses.  
  
"Uh-huh," Newt mumbled as he wrapped his arms around Thomas' neck like he was settling himself and making himself right at home.  
  
Thomas let out a growl-like sound before pulling sharply away from Newt. The blonde grinned like he had proven some sort of point and made his way to the front door of the house.  
  
"I hate you!" Thomas called out after him.  
  
"Hate you too!" Newt said, turning to look at Thomas and walking backwards.  
  
"Fuck you," Thomas said, jogging to catch up with Newt.  
  
"If you're ready come and get it," Newt said in a sing-song voice and ran the rest of the way to the door.  
  
Thomas chased after him and caught him just as the blonde slung the front door open. The boys all turned to look at them and burst out laughing before saying things like: You guys are gross! Ew! Get a room! Please, not in front of the children! My eyes! Someone save us!  
  
"You guys are insane," Newt said, laughter lingering in his tone, and he closed to door behind him.  
  
Thomas ran towards the stairs and called out "I'm gonna take out Cheerio!"  
  
It was like the dark-haired boy knew the promise Newt had made to the dog. It shouldn't really have been all that surprising. Thomas sometimes knew what was going through Newt's mind better than Newt did.  
  
"While he does that. . . Do we _have_ to wait until tomorrow to open the presents? What's stopping us from doing it now? Come on, Newt, we could totally open them now," Minho said in his best pleading and convincing tone.  
  
Newt was just about to agree when Thomas shouted "TRADITION MUST BE UPHELD. UNCULTURED SHANKS MUST BE TERMINATED."  
  
"Isn't that a tad dramatic?" Minho asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.  
  
"It's not when it involves the rupture of perfectly good traditions. Now get a hold of yourself, we're not opening presents until _tomorrow_ morning. That's final," Thomas said as he came down the stairs. Cheerio was right behind and he made a run for it when he saw Newt. The golden ball of fluff ran towards Newt at full speed and almost made the blonde fall on his behind. Thankfully, Newt was expecting the attack and held his ground as firmly as possible.  
  
Grinning, he scratched Cheerio behind the ears and kissed his forehead before turning back to the other boys.  
  
"Tommy and I are gonna walk Cheerio. Please avoid getting the cops called cause you don't know how to keep your voices down. Okay, shanks?" Newt waited for affirmation and they all muttered their agreement.  
  
"Let's go," Thomas said and knelt to put on a leash on their dog. Cheerio barked happily and before the other boys could say anything, they were out the door.

The sky outside was darker now and instinctively Newt walked closer to Thomas. The dark-haired boy hid his grin and grabbed Newt's hand silently. Newt's fingers were already almost frozen and Thomas had to keep himself from laughing at the blonde's resistance to put on gloves.  
  
Cheerio was walking slightly ahead of them but was making no show of rushing them. He was more than content with just casually walking.

  


\- - -

  


They had gotten Cheerio two years ago, at first much to Thomas' dismay.  
  
Newt had been the one to see Cheerio for the first time. Thomas had been driving and they were on a road trip and Newt had seen the dog in the highway and had basically screamed at Thomas to stop the car so they could save the poor dog from it's probably soon death.  
  
Grudgingly, Thomas stopped the car and Newt got out. Carefully the blonde approached the then puppy but it had been more than trusting. With careful steps, the dog had walked towards Newt and he was able to take him into his arms.  
  
Victoriously, Newt had walked back to the car and grinned at Thomas. The dark-haired boy had sighed and shook his head. "Tell me we have not just gotten a dog."  
  
"We have. He's ours. Now we have to stop by a vet. Start driving, we got no time to lose." Newt had then proceeded to put on his seat belt like it was not strange at all that he had just grabbed a dog, which could be potentially rabid, from the highway.  
  
"You're lucky I love you," Thomas had said and got back on the road.

  


\- - -

  


Now it was two years later and Newt was pretty sure Thomas loved the dog more and the feeling was mutual. Cheerio turned into a little puddle under Thomas' fingers. It was ridiculous considering the fact that it had been Newt who saved him.  
  
Newt figured it hardly mattered. At the end of the day, they had the dog and he was perfect and adorable. Looking at the dog brought a smile to his lips. He could remember teaching him to do so many tricks and how he had learned so quickly. He could remember sitting on the couch snuggled against Thomas and having Cheerio somehow settle himself comfortably on Thomas' lap as they watched TV. Honestly, the best memories had begun to be made when they had gotten the dog.  
  
"Earth to Newt," Thomas said, snapping his fingers in front of Newt's face.  
  
The blonde blinked back to reality and shook his head. "I was just. . . Never mind."  
  
Thomas stopped walking and turned to look at Newt. He stared at the blonde for a while, so long that Newt began to feel uncomfortable.  
  
"Thomas-" Newt began to say but the dark-haired boy interrupted him.  
  
"Hush, let me think for a moment," Thomas said, holding up a finger in a silencing motion.  
  
Newt remained quiet and stared at the snow and then at Cheerio and then back at the snow before he finally met Thomas' gaze once more. Thomas grinned suddenly and kissed Newt's cold red nose. "I love you, idiot."  
  
Newt would have retorted something if it weren't for the fact that the other boy sounded so serious. He just nodded and said back "Yeah, I love you too."  
  
"Let's go home. The boys must have started World War III in there already."  
  
Newt didn't complain, he just turned on his heel and began walking back home.

  


\- - -

  


It was about four in the morning when Newt made his way sleepily to the kitchen. He had fallen asleep earlier but had been woken up by the sound of clanging and a sudden bang. Groggily he rubbed his eyes and took the steps down. He was still in a mostly sleepy state when he walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. He took a large gulp before he finally focused on what was going on.  
  
He found Thomas crouching on the floor, picking up some pans and pots that had mysteriously fallen to the floor. Newt didn't even think of helping. He just watched, perplexed, as the other boy picked up what had fallen.  
  
Thomas didn't even notice Newt until he had put everything on the kitchen counter. Newt had finally decided to approach the other boy and leaned against the kitchen counter. In his sleepy haze, he failed to notice that somehow there was mistletoe hanging right above his head.  
  
Thomas turned to look at the blonde and blinked in confusion for a second at the mistletoe that had somehow magically appeared above the head of the other boy. Thomas could have sworn he had not seen the mistletoe anywhere near when he had first stepped into the kitchen. Then he thought that he would have no real clue of if there had been mistletoe or not around because he was too busy making noise.  
  
"What are you staring at?" Newt asked, at last, when the other had not made any indication of saying a single word.  
  
Thomas vaguely pointed at the mistletoe hanging right above Newt's head. The blonde looked up at it and shrugged. "Kiss me already so we can go back to bed."  
  
"How very romantic of you," Thomas mumbled.  
  
"Just. . . Don't. I was deprived of my sleep because of your sudden urge to make as much noise as possible with all the pots and pans in this house. Come here already." Newt grabbed Thomas by the front of his T-shirt and pressed his lips against the other boy's. Thomas' shoulders relaxed and he wrapped his arms around Newt's waist before deepening the kiss.  
  
Newt made a sound on the back of his throat as he started to get increasingly more alert. He moved his fingers from clenching Thomas' shirt to his hair and he messily ran his fingers through it and gripped it tightly.  
  
Thomas pulled back slightly to mutter "You're a sloppy kisser at four in the morning."  
  
"You can go fuck yourself. I'm going to bed," Newt said and grabbed Thomas by the waistband of his pajama pants to drag him upstairs.  
  
"It's so much more fun if _you_ do it."  
  
Newt sloppily tried to smack Thomas but failed miserably, his hand going through thin air. Thomas coughed out a laugh and this time Newt successfully shoved him against the wall. Thomas pulled Newt closer and pressed a kiss on the lips of the blonde before this one could resist.  
  
"Sleep," Newt mumbled haphazardly during the kiss.  
  
"Kissing," Thomas said back and made sure to keep a tight grip on the other boy so he could not leave.  
  
Newt gave in to the kissing without much resistance and they were there for who knew how long. The only reason they stopped was because Newt had begun to rock himself side to side and was starting to fall asleep while Thomas was being woken _up_ by Newt's movement.  
  
"Let's go," Thomas said pushing Newt away.  
  
Newt nodded and sleepily lead the way back to the room. They lay down on the bed and Newt cuddled against Thomas before instantly falling asleep. Thomas shook his head and kissed the top of Newt's head affectionately before he too fell back to sleep.

  


\- - -

  


At about eight in the morning, everyone in the household was awake. Most of them were crowded into the kitchen as Newt and Thomas looked for the ingredients to make cookies. It was a tradition of theirs to always make cookies on Christmas morning. Every year was different. Sometimes only Newt was awake and he made them or only Thomas was awake and he made them or they were all awake and they all tried to help in making the cookies.  
  
This year was the last option. This meant that the kitchen was actually a mess and there already was flour everywhere and somehow sprinkles had spilled over the counter and the floor. It looked like a war zone where the weapons were baking ingredients. Thomas and Newt were trying hard to keep some sort of order in the kitchen but it was not going successfully.  
  
Plus, Thomas was also trying to keep an eye on Minho who kept trying to sneak into the living room where presents were piled around the Christmas tree. Minho had not yet given up his hope that he could open his presents sooner than the others. This meant that Thomas quite a few times had to stop what he was doing so that he could drag Minho's ass back in the kitchen.  
  
Chuck and Frypan were pretty much the only boys who were actually doing a _good_ job of helping. The other boys were just causing chaos and disaster. They were tripping over each other and yanking the ingredients from each other's hands and just being annoying as hell.  
  
"I say this because I love you: Get out of the way before I burn all of you with the steaming hot cookie tray," Thomas said as he opened the door of the oven to take out the second batch of cookies.  
  
All the boys scrambled out of the way in a hurry and watched as Thomas put the tray on the kitchen counter. Newt then proceeded to put another batch of cookies into the oven. The blonde grinned victoriously at the thought of having done that without someone shoving him and somehow making him fall into the oven or burn himself one way or other.  
  
Before the boys could get back in the kitchen, Newt started clearing out the counter and organizing things. Thomas joined in and in a matter of five minutes everything was in order. The boys stared at them, looking slightly scolded.  
  
Newt couldn't handle seeing those expressions on their faces and said brightly "Who wants to help me decorate them?"  
  
Quite a few hands shot upwards and Newt randomly chose some boys to help him. Now that the war had been won, everything else was done rather peacefully.  
  
It took about an hour but eventually all the cookies needed were made and decorated. A few boys held plates and shared the cookies on them. Chuck began walking to the living room, a plate of cookies all for himself in his hands. Minho followed after him and snatched one of the cookies on Chuck's plate. The younger boy glared at the older one but did not say anything and just sat down when he was in front of the Christmas presents.  
  
Newt and Thomas walked into the living room after the other two and sat down. The rest of the boys followed and somehow packed themselves into the living room. Every inch of the room was filled with human flesh or presents, like every Christmas.  
  
They were all beaming with joy when Minho, Thomas and Newt began to sort out the presents. The sorting was very unorganized and more times than not they ended up throwing the presents in the direction of who it belonged to. A few times a boy called out to be careful because whatever was inside was breakable.  
  
The boys who already had their hands on their presents ripped up the paper like savages. It made the room fill up with the sound of paper tearing and screams and hollers of joy. Meanwhile the sorting of presents was still being made.  
  
When Minho had been given his presents, he promptly stopped trying to help Newt and Thomas and focused on the precious presents he finally had a hold of. Thomas and Newt shared a look but didn't say anything.  
  
After all the presents had been given out and opened, most of the boys drifted to different parts of the house to use whatever they had been given.  
  
Newt turned back to Thomas and in a sudden motion, smacked his arm with the brand new gloves the dark-haired boy had gifted him.  
  
"I put super glue on them so you can never take them off and you learn your lesson," Thomas joked, grinning.  
  
"Gloves, that's all you fucking give me? Even Alby gave me a better gift than you did," Newt said with a serious face.  
  
"Really?" Thomas smirked and pulled Newt closer by the front of his T-shirt. Newt made no point of resisting and pressed his lips to Thomas'. The dark-haired boy tugged the blonde closer and closer until the blonde sat on his lap. Satisfied by this, Thomas deepened the kiss and let his hands wander freely. They lingered on Newt's hair for a moment, his fingers making little circles in the most soothing pattern imaginable. Newt made a sound on the back of his throat and began to tug up Thomas' shirt. He wanted it _off_ , desperately.  
  
"If you guys start touching each other in the fucking living room, I swear I'm gonna throw up." Alby's voice boomed in their ears loudly.  
  
Newt reacted immediately and pulled away from the kiss. Thomas, more reluctant and stubborn, wrapped his arms around Newt's waist so he couldn't leave.  
  
"This, as Newt would put it, is our bloody house. We do whatever we want wherever we want."  
  
"Weren't you the one who just yesterday was saying that we should think about the children because who knew what it would do to their brains to see us in a compromising situation?" Newt said back smartly.  
  
Thomas opened his mouth to say something but Newt spoke once more. "I mean, I don't care about the trauma to the boys. Haven't we all seen Alby and Minho shove their tongues down some poor girl's throat enough times? It's the same thing."  
  
"It's not the same when what you were about to do was have hot gay sex in the middle of the living room on _Christmas_ day while _all_ the boys are somewhere in the house or outside the house," Alby said back and having made his point, left the living room.  
  
Newt laughed and got to his feet. He spoke as he held out a hand to Thomas so that the dark-haired boy could get up "As if. The lot of them are the biggest cockblockers in the universe. We can't do _anything_ while they're around."  
  
"They'll be gone tonight," Thomas said, wiggling his eyebrows in a ridiculous enough manner that it wasn't sexy at all but hilarious.  
  
Newt barked out a laugh and shook his head at his boyfriend. "You're insane. Now, come on. You made me a promise last year."  
  
Thomas' smile melted from his face instantly. A look of almost comical horror fell on his features and Newt was trying _really_ hard not to laugh. "I thought you had forgotten. You really won't make me, will you?"  
  
"You have to. Especially now that you got me such a horrible gift."  
  
"Who said that was my real gift?" Thomas raised an eyebrow and Newt rolled his eyes.  
  
"Don't get cheeky. You're not escaping this. We're going ice skating and I'm going to teach you and you're going to bloody like it," Newt said in his tone that said he was not kidding.  
  
Thomas sighed and nodded. "Okay, okay. Fine. You win."  
  
"That's what I like to hear." Newt gave the other boy a sloppy kiss on the cheek and dragged him upstairs so they could change.

  


\- - -

  


Newt and Thomas said their goodbyes to the boys whom would all be long gone by the time they went back to the house. Newt had already decided that he would be driving to his parent's lake house. It was only about an hour long drive and he didn't think it to be that bad. He had decided, while he had made sure the boys would lock the house before they left, that he would not take Thomas somewhere public to teach him how to ice skate. If he did that then other boy would probably hate him and not talk to him for a week. Well, maybe not a _week_ but Thomas would be upset.  
  
Thomas blasted some music loudly while Newt drove and neither did much to uphold a conversation. They were used to road trips which were ten times longer than this ride and didn't mind just riding in silence. Newt absently tapped a finger against the steering wheel to the beat of the music while Thomas hummed along. It was actually pretty peaceful in contrast to what it was like to be with the other boys.  
  
Usually, this was how their days were spent. They were so at ease and used to being around each other that it was the most natural and calm thing ever. What bothered Newt was that each time the boys came and stayed over he always ended up wishing they would stay longer. The house always ended up sounding very quiet and lonely after they were all gone.  
  
Newt shook his head and convinced himself to stop being moody on _Christmas_ Day. He changed the radio station to one that was playing some peppy Christmas song and before long he and Thomas were singing along off-key. They looked at each other for a second and laughed at how horribly they were singing but didn't stop anyway.  
  
By the time they reached the lake house, they were both on exceptionally good moods. Newt grabbed his skates and grabbed the ones he had bought Thomas about a month ago and got out of the car. Thomas followed Newt as the latter led the way to the lake.  
  
It was no surprise to find it frozen over. Newt sat down on the snow and put on his skates. He handed Thomas the pair he had bought him and didn't wait for the other to put the skates on.  
  
Newt decided to test out the ice and gave it a few turns. Thomas watched him silently while he finished putting on his own skates. He was actually genuinely terrified of getting on the ice. He could just imagine all the falls he would have and the pain afterward. Then there was also that small fear of: What if the ice broke? He would fall in or Newt and then all hell would break lose.  
  
"Thomas, stop being dramatic," Newt said, skating to the very edge of the lake, close to where Thomas was sitting.  
  
"What are you talking about? I haven't said anything," Thomas said with his best nonchalant tone.  
  
"Uh-huh, and I'm blind. Now, take my hands and get on here." Newt offered both his hands to Thomas.  
  
The dark-haired boy grabbed the other's hands and got to his feet. Almost gently, Newt lead him closer and closer to the ice until finally Thomas was on it. Instantly one of his knees slightly gave and he almost fell. Newt kept a steady hold on him and somehow neither of them fell.  
  
"Stop being scared. If you're scared then this is going to be a hundred times harder to do," Newt said patiently and tried to guide Thomas so they could move across the ice.  
  
For a little while, it actually worked out and they moved across the ice steadily. Newt smiled proudly and said "Okay, try to do it by yourself for a little while."  
  
Then, without warning, he let go of Thomas. The dark-haired boy freaked out and tried to move forward but ended up slipping. Newt laughed and reached out to keep him from falling but the other boy fell anyway. Trying not to crack up laughing, Newt helped Thomas to his feet and once more began to try to teach the other how to move across the ice.  
  
Thomas was so tense by now that he was clinging tightly onto Newt. The blonde smiled and said "Relax and let go of me a little, you're cutting off my circulation."  
  
Thomas nodded and loosened his grip slightly. Newt nodded in encouragement and began to tell Thomas some pointers on how to move and _not_ fall on his ass.  
  
Thomas listened attentively and eventually decided he wanted to try again on his own. The dark-haired boy let go but the blonde kept himself close to catch the other if he fell. For about thirty seconds, the dark-haired boy moved successfully until finally he tripped with thin air and in desperation grabbed the blonde's arm to keep from falling.  
  
Newt held on tightly to Thomas but it was too late and they both fell down. Newt laughed and began to tickle Thomas when he heard the other was groaning in complaint. It took about two seconds for Thomas to burst out laughing as Newt tickled him. Newt was relentless and kept tickling and tickling until Thomas was laughing so hard he was crying and _he_ was laughing so hard he felt his eyes burning with tears.  
  
"Newt, stop," Thomas said breathlessly in between bursts of laughter.  
  
Newt only grinned and kept on his onslaught. Thomas fought back by trying to roll them over so he was on top. It was quite a hassle when he was finding it hard to breathe between all the laughter and when Newt was using his body weight to keep Thomas from moving.  
  
"Newt!" Thomas gasped out and pushed the blonde hard so that finally he was on top. He quickly grabbed Newt's hands and pinned them over the blonde's head. He was still laughing and the whole position made Newt laugh harder and Thomas still felt like he was being tickled and he couldn't stop laughing. Neither of them could stop laughing and their chests and bellies ached from all the laughing and they could barely breathe but somehow it was okay.  
  
"I love you, shank," Thomas said, still laughing and leaning in close to Newt's face.  
  
"Love you too. . . Even though you're a bloody idiot," Newt said and his own words only made him laugh harder.  
  
Thomas stared at Newt and he looked so beautiful, laughing and breathless, that he wanted to keep the memory locked in his brain forever. He took a mental photograph of Newt in that perfect moment and then kissed him. Newt, still breathless and slightly laughing, kissed him back.  
  
Thomas pulled away but only to pepper the blonde with kisses everywhere; his cheeks, his nose, his closed eyes, his chin, his jaw, everywhere.  
  
"I love you so much," he muttered over and over all the while.  
  
Newt bubbled with laughter and wrapped his arms around Thomas. "Then kiss me properly, shuck face."  
  
And Thomas did.

  


\- - -

  


Thomas and Newt got home about three hours later. They had already missed proper lunch time and Newt was starving but Thomas had insisted they not eat out. It had been Thomas' plan all along to make Newt a nice little Christmas dinner and his plans weren't about to be foiled.  
  
Newt complained during the whole car drive but eventually decided to do as his boyfriend told him and not order any food. He instead ate some of the leftover cookies from the morning. There were only about three left and he did not share a single one with Thomas even though he knew he should have.  
  
"You're an asshole," Thomas said as he stared at the blonde as he ate the last cookies.  
  
Newt shrugged, not really caring, and sat down on one of the stools that were behind the kitchen counter. Thomas rolled his eyes and said "I'm going to make you the best Christmas dinner ever and you're going to feel bad about being such a bad sport and wanting to order out."  
  
"Whatever you say, Tommy. I'm not gonna argue with you," Newt said with an innocent smile.  
  
Thomas didn't believe a word of it but he set out to work anyway. He took out all the ingredients he needed and began to make the food without any sort of help from his boyfriend.  
  
It took about an hour and a half, but that's when Newt knew things weren't going well. Thomas had already began to cuss and throw things around in a fuss. He moved hectically all over the kitchen and tried to do about a hundred things at once.  
  
Newt tried to step in and help but Thomas only started shouting at him and eventually he gave up. He left the kitchen for a while and looked for Cheerio in his bedroom. The dog greeted him happily and he spent about half an hour petting the dog and trying to ignore Thomas who was clearly upset while he cooked.  
  
"He is making such a fuss but he really doesn't need to do this. I already know he loves me. He doesn't have to make me _dinner_ ," Newt whispered to Cheerio who acted as if he were attentively paying attention.  
  
"Should I stop him? Should I just go down there and stop him before he burns down the house?" Newt asked Cheerio. The dog barked in agreement and he figured that was as much of a sign he was going to get as any.  
  
"Newt!" Thomas shouted before Newt had even moved an inch from the bed.  
  
"Coming!" Newt called out and dashed down the stairs.  
  
He looked for Thomas in the kitchen but found that he wasn't there. All that was left was a massacre of food and dirty dishes.  
  
Newt didn't say a word and looked for Thomas in the dining room. There he was not surprised to find the dark-haired boy. What did surprise him was that he found a fresh pizza on the table and a bowl full of biscuits.  
  
"I wanted to make you something from scratch but nothing was going right and I burned pretty much everything. It all tasted wrong or I didn't have enough ingredients and I just got pissed off cause I wanted to do something nice and wasn't able to. So here's the only things I was able to bake successfully. I hope you like it because I did it because I love you," Thomas said without pausing to take a breath.  
  
Newt smiled warmly at Thomas and walked up to him. He pulled Thomas towards him by the loops of his jeans and pressed their foreheads together. "It's perfect. It's all perfect. Stop making excuses because it's all perfect. I love it and I love you."  
  
"Liar," Thomas retorted in a whisper.  
  
"You're such a bloody idiot, you know that?" Newt said with a laugh before he gave Thomas a kiss.  
  
"Merry Christmas, shank,"  
  
"Yeah. Merry Christmas, Tommy."

**Author's Note:**

> The dog is called Cheerio cause I was thinking bout British slang and also thinking about one time Newt said "we'd all be right cheery..." and the name sort of HAPPENED. Idk, there is no reasonable and logical explanation.


End file.
